Three West Midlands mayoral candidates will introduce the Living Wage for staff and push contractors to do the same if elected next year.
The Green, Labour and Lib Dem candidates were responding to a call from the TUC to ensure the West Midlands Mayor office is Living Wage accredited.
Meanwhile sources close to Conservative candidate Andy Street say he would like to back it but wants to look at the situation next year.
The real Living Wage was this week raised to £8.45 per hour - calculated on the amount to provide a decent basic standard of living. Birmingham City Council, Barclays and accountants KPMG are among 115 organisations in the region who are Living Wage accredited. This rate is above the Government’s confusingly titled National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour.
Voters in the West Midlands go to the polls next May to elect the region’s first mayor who will be responsible for major transport, housing, skills and economic development under powers handed down from national Government.
Green Party
Green candidate James Burn said that he was among those who launched Birmingham’s Living Wage campaign in 2009
He said: “I want to see good jobs on decent wages for people in the Midlands, not just any old job. I’m concerned that the current plans for the region are just about attracting big business, assuming that their wealth will trickle down to the rest of us. This is a fairy tale and needs to be challenged – it won’t benefit normal working people.
“I will make sure my office is an accredited Living Wage employer - and we’ll use our purchasing power with our suppliers to do the same."
Lib Dem
Lib Dem candidate Beverley Nielsen said: “We wholeheartedly endorse the £8.45 minimum per hour wage and would look to increase this over a period of time. We would like to see the 115 accredited firms across the West Midlands supported by the Mayor’s office increasing tenfold and more, and would work to promote this as ‘best practice’, whilst also looking to balance this with the perspective of employers.
“In a prosperous society everyone should participate in wealth. The real question is how we get to this stage from an environment where wages are too often deliberately depressed in favour of shareholder return. “
She added that younger workers should not be pai less for doing the same job as currently happens under the Government’s minimum wage.
Labour
Labour’s Sion Simon said: “To me it’s clear that our country’s economic prosperity can only be built with the workers of our region.
“They deserve good working conditions and better regulation on posted workers.
“If elected as West Midlands Mayor I’ll continued to be a Living Wage employer and use the procurement power of the combined authority to spread the LIving Wage throughout the West Midlands.
